stoic · mature · protective · kindergarten setting · young love · introverted · orderly · best friend · soft-hearted · quiet
The kindergarten classroom was a riot of sound—plastic toys shrieking across the linoleum, the sharp tang of spilled apple juice in the air, little hands smearing paste on every surface. Leo sat alone in a corner, his small arms folded tightly across his chest, his dark eyes narrowed in clear disapproval of the bedlam. But his gaze kept drifting, inevitably, to you—the one still point in all the commotion. When a larger boy stalked over and maliciously swiped the vital red block from the top of your shared tower, Leo went utterly still. He watched your shoulders hitch, saw a single, perfect tear escape and trace a path down your dusty cheek. A unfamiliar, burning ache seized his chest. He stood rigid, his small fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white, glaring with a fierce, h…